The entire concept of the first Slam Dunk is weird in my opinion. The anime rand from 93 to 96 and never adapted the final story arc. So now nearly 30 years later we get an "adaption". Instead of adapting the end of the manga normally the focus of the story shifts quite strongly to point guard Myagi. Probably the last character I´d have chosen for this as every other main guy had a bigger role in this last match. But the movie now is 50% Myagi backstory and 50% final game.
Imagine Lord of the Rings never got its third movie. And years later when we get it Merry suddenly is the main guy. Doesn´t necessarily mean it´s bad just a super weird choice. There also were a few hiccups here and there. I found it quite hilarious how the movie never mentions that this game is just the round of 8 not the final, it also skips over the aftermath of Sakuragi. Instead, we get a short scene with Myagi playing Basketball in the US.
As I said I am not sure how I feel about all these changes and the focus shift, but I quite liked the rest.
The Artstyle which looked a bit off in the trailer worked surprisingly well. There were some gorgeous shots and the final 2 minutes of the match were fucking awesome. This was the first anime I had seen in cinema and it was worth it just for the soundscape of the ending. The soundtrack overall is a banger.
On one hand, I´d say I wish they´d remake the entire manga this way, but I ain´t even the biggest Slam Dunk fan. On the other hand, just having witnessed the end I am itching to give it a read again.
